Invictus: Redux
by StainedLace
Summary: After members of his crew are murdered by a Federation officer, Captain Harlock goes on a quest for vengeance.
1. Prologue

Welcome to (another) rewrite of Invictus! Long story short, I feel as though the original Invictus is no longer a good foundation for the sequel. (I hate it and that's all there is to it.) This doesn't mean that I'm not going to be writing chapters for the sequel, but this rewrite is going to have my focus for the time being.

FYI: FF is a little vague on their "Not Allowed" guidelines as in, "Multiple entries of the same material. There can only be one copy of any unique story on the entire site". Since things are going to change this story shouldn't fall under that, but I know some people take the rules a bit too far and report rewrites. In case it becomes a problem, I'll leave the original Invictus here and post the rewrite over on A03. Just so ya know.

Also, if there's anything you'd like to see in this new rewrite (more fights, more interaction between certain characters, more Baines, etc, etc,) please let me know and I'll make it happen! Enjoy!

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Red smoke enveloped Harlock as he walked along the main street of a burning town. It amazed and repulsed him that so much death could paint the air the color of blood. However, blood saturated the ground around him, and he could see it smeared and splattered on the buildings that collapsed around him. Why would the air remain pure when everyone who lived and worked in this town was lying dead in the streets?

Like many other settlements throughout the outer sectors, it had once been a haven for pirates, gunrunners, and other outlaws wanted by the Earth Federation; and like many others, it had become a target for a certain fanatical Federation officer by the name Loan Van Buren.

In the span of four months, Commander Loan Van Buren had done what no other had done before him: wipe out entire colonies built outside Federation control, kill or capture some of the most wanted criminals in the universe, and even make Captain Harlock to walk straight into a death trap. Harlock himself was unaware of Van Buren's motivations, or why he chose to implement such brutal tactics, but it was more than evident the Commander's intentions were to destroy those regarded as enemies of the Federation.

Moreover, it did not matter who was in the line of fire.

Blocking Harlock's path was a crumpled body lying on its side. It was a boy, no more than fifteen, delicate and long-limbed, with two gaping holes in his chest. The wounds did not disturb Harlock though; he had seen much worse inflicted upon children much younger than this boy. His eyes however, remained wide open and frozen in a state of shock and terror.

Harlock knelt by him, feeling the blood against his knee, and gently placed a hand on his bony shoulder. The pirate felt his chest tighten as he realized one shot pierced the boy's heart and killed him instantly. He would not have felt pain, but Harlock wondered what consumed his last thoughts as a gun leveled at him.

Would he have feared death? Or the pain? Would he have been afraid of dying alone? And what of his loved ones, if he had any? Would they know, or were they dead too?

Harlock inhaled a shaky breath and closed the boy's eyes. It did not make sense to him. What was it that drove a man to commit such atrocities and murder so many people? No foe he ever faced seemed so ruthless and cold; Loan Van Buren was an enigma to him.

Harlock stood and wished the boy eternal peace before he continued his solitary march along a road paved in fire, rubble, and blood. Each step was fiercer than the last, and his pace quickened with each corpse he passed.

It did not make sense. None of it made any sense at all.

His path led him to the town square, an unpaved area where all roads led, with burning buildings surrounding it. There were no major landmarks here; in fact, there was really nothing but moist patches of sand where the dead once lay. There were however, some one-hundred Federation soldiers in armor, wielding automatic rifles. Harlock was unconcerned with them; his attention lay upon a single individual without a helmet that stood amongst the throng.

Harlock never knew what to expect when he finally encountered Loan Van Buren. He only knew the man by his "handiwork," as it were, and what little information a few friends and colleagues were able to dig up. Loan himself was a relatively young individual, blond-haired, and strong. He was also notably handsome with a square jaw and chiseled features. His eyes however, were narrow and empty.

"You pirates do not care punctuality I see," Loan said as he strode forth ahead of his men, unarmed save for a pistol on his hip. "Or do you just not care about the lives of your crew?"

Harlock fought back a growl as a few of the soldiers carefully circled behind him, cutting off any route of escape as they kept their guns fixed upon him.

"Where are they?" Harlock demanded.

Eighteen members of his crew had been in this town when the Federation attacked. The ships fired their guns and cannons first, clearing away any opposition that might mobilize before the soldiers descended. Harlock himself and the remainder of his crew were back at the Arcadia, which lay behind a rocky ridge over five miles away, when their alarm systems sounded.

Harlock did not think it was a coincidence that Van Buren and his men attacked a relatively new colony without defense systems shortly after they arrived. The fact Loan took so many of Harlock's crew hostage, then sent him a message detailing when and where he should come if he did not want them executed further cemented that notion.

"They're here," Loan answered calmly as he motioned to his men with a wave of his hand to move, allowing Harlock to see his bruised and bloodied crewmembers on their knees.

Rather than feel relieved, Harlock instantly tensed. Several leaned heavily on their comrades' shoulders, barely able to hold themselves up. The amount of blood on their clothes, the bruises on their skin, and evident swelling were all signs that they needed medical attention.

The only one who seemed to be all right was Miime, who sat serenely despite the multitude of weapons pointed at them. Beside her was Kei, partially slumped over with blood visible on the right side of her clothing. One side of her face was badly bruised, making Harlock suspect she had been struck by a rifle.

"There's only thirteen of them," Harlock said as he desperately kept his rage in check. "Where are the others?"

"Oh, they're dead," Van Buren stated flatly. "But they are here." He pointed to a previously obscured portion of the square where five bodies lay side-by-side, either shot or burned.

Harlock felt his mouth fall open in shock as he recognized two of his engineers, his logistics officer, one gunner, and an electrician. His crew. His family.

"You son of a—" Harlock started forward, hearing the clicks of dozens of weapons as they leveled at him and his crew. Harlock himself stopped short when he saw Loan raise a single hand, signaling his men to hold their fire.

"If you wish your crew to live, you will do as I say," Loan warned as he lowered his hand and reached for the pistol on his hip.

Harlock continued to glare at Van Buren as two of the soldiers crept closer to him, keeping their guns fixed upon him. He knew their intentions, and unbuckled his gun belt, letting his saber and his cosmo dragoon fall to the ground beside him.

"Thank you for being so cooperative," Loan said as one of the soldiers rammed the butt of his gun into Harlock's stomach, forcing the pirate to double over, while the other brought his weapon high above his head before slamming it onto Harlock's back.

The pirate fell to hands and knees, unable to make a sound due the breath robbed of him when he was struck in the stomach. His hands were quickly bound behind his back, and when Harlock looked up, he found himself staring down the barrel of Loan's pistol.

"You are not going to leave this planet alive," Loan informed him. "I know that you're here to keep me from noticing your remaining crewman circling behind us. Don't you think that I would have anticipated such a move?"

The pirate kept his surprise from showing. He did come with the intention of keeping the Commander's attention on him, while his crew snuck up behind the Federation soldiers via underground tunnels built in case of an attack.

"My soldiers are stationed in the labyrinth below this town, and I'm sure they've already encountered your friends. There is no escaping this time Harlock; but before you die, answer me this." Harlock stared unafraid at Van Buren even as he cocked his gun. "What is it that you love most?"

Harlock kept his expression blank and did not answer the Commander. He wondered at the purpose of his question for several moments, and only when Van Buren lowered his gun and began to walk towards his crew did Harlock feel uneasy.

"I've studied you Harlock, poured over every file the Federation has regarding your past, your crimes, everything," he said as he casually strolled across the bloodied ground and stood behind Miime and Kei. "For a man so devoted to eradicating the Federation and the vices of mankind, you still manage to keep a woman in your life."

"Van Buren," Harlock began with a foreboding tone, keeping his rising dread in check. The purpose of Loan's statements were quickly becoming apparent to him and he began to struggle against his bonds. This was not something he anticipated when he came to rescue his crew. "I know it's me the Federation wants. Leave them be!"

"Your crew is wanted for the countless deaths of Federation soldiers and merchant crewmen, whether they are executed here or in prison is not something my superiors are concerned with." Van Buren spoke softly even as he raised his gun and pointed the barrel at the back of Kei's head. "I know all about the woman you loved back on earth, Maya was her name, and after her the prostitute Shinonora on Heavy Meldar."

Harlock lurched forward, only to be grabbed by the soldiers beside him and held in place. Kei herself drew in a steady breath and kept her blue eyes fixed upon Harlock; she was not afraid, only sad. Her bottom lip slightly trembled and tears formed at the corners of her eyes, but she made no sound, even as the gun pressed painfully into the back of her skull.

"Am I right to suspect that your preference for blondes continues to this day?" Loan continued, and then suddenly shifted his gun towards Miime. "Or does the alien amongst your all human crew indicate a special affection?"

Loan did not expect a response, and Harlock did not answer. He did however, carefully scrutinize the pirate's angry features, waiting for any indication that he preferred one female to the other. When Harlock gave nothing away, Loan huffed.

"I suppose it doesn't matter which one dies first, does it?" He turned his gun back at Kei.

Harlock and the rest of his crew screamed when blood suddenly burst from her chest. He thrashed against his captors as she fell onto her side, her face turned away from him. Harlock could see Kei moving slightly, her hands, her legs, and her shoulders twitched for a few seconds before she became very still.

Loan kept his cold stare focused upon Harlock as he turned his gun on Miime. The pirate was desperately trying to escape the hold the two soldiers had upon him, pulling, twisting, trying to stand; anything he could to shake them off him. His ferocity caused three more soldiers to come forward and force him down onto his stomach.

"Harlock," Miime's soft voice pierced through the rage and sorrow that clouded Harlock's mind.

His struggles instantly ceased, and Loan watched with some degree of fascination as the pirate's features softened. Harlock was completely focused on her.

"It's alright," Miime said. "It's alright."

Harlock wanted to believe her. He always believed in her. Yet he was unable to move, unable to do anything but scream when Loan's gun fired. He watched as she fell, her body barely making a sound as she hit the ground, blood instantly pooling around her head.

Harlock could not breathe.

"Does it hurt yet?" Loan asked after several silent minutes. "Or are you still in shock?"

Harlock could not take his eye off the bodies that lay before him. Frowning, Loan stepped over the alien and motioned for his men to allow Harlock up. They jerked him back onto his knees, and the violent motion seemed to snap Harlock from his daze.

"It hits you all at once, almost like an avalanche," Loan continued as he slowly walked towards Harlock. "The pain, the terror, the realization that the one you love most is dead, it's suffocating really."

"Why?" Harlock snarled as he looked up at the commander. "Why did you kill them? What is it you have to gain from killing them?"

Loan stopped and knelt so he could stare Harlock straight in the eye.

"To make you feel the same way that I do," Loan answered as he pointed his gun at Harlock's forehead and squeezed the trigger.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Oh, will you look here, I finally updated this. Sorry if there are any weird errors, my cat kept rolling around on the keyboard when I was trying to write this. Any other writing errors are mine, but I'll blame her. XD

Two years later.

The four stars pinned to his formal uniform would take some getting used to. Often the men who wore them were twice his age and with better family names, but now Loan Van Buren was Admiral of the Fleet. Something he well deserved.

They suited him though, just like the other medals adorning his chest. It would not be long before he became accustomed to the insignia, Loan was certain of that. He could not say the same for his subordinates or his peers however.

Plastic smiles and strained pleasantries accompanied the congratulations heaped up on him, and Loan accepted them cordially. They could snarl and complain as much as they wanted behind his back but, he did not care. Loan had proven he was better than the opulent rabble that surrounded him. He alone had saved the Earth Federation from the brink of ruination, brought order to the galaxies, restored vital trade routes, and expanded Federation control into the wilderness that was the outer territories. Above all, he had rid the Federation of its greatest enemy, Captain Harlock.

He smiled as he meandered his way through the elite of the galaxy. Their greatest concerns now were cementing political alliances, performing financial takeovers of rival companies, marrying their children into other aristocratic families, and learning the latest gossip that was the lifeline to any social active.

Loan despised them all, almost as much as they did him. They gladly parted before him, giving him a wide berth as he walked through the crowded halls of his palace-like home. He was not born into this world of finery, but rather climbed the social ladder with each promotion. Men like him were often seen as outsiders trying to establish connections with the blue-blooded families that formed the core of the Earth Federation.

Loan however, was glad that he had earned everything; from his promotion, his wealth, and his notoriety on his own and not from some dynastic name. If they respected him Loan would be content.

"Ah! Here is our gracious host!"

Turning, Loan saw the thickset Odovacar Siegar, The Federation's Secretary of the Treasury, red-faced and drunk. Following him was his daughter Elora, a brunette beauty in a champagne colored evening gown. Loan raised a brow when his full attention focused on her right eye, nearly swollen shut and caked in makeup.

She noticed his stare but put on an indifferent front. She raised her chin and placed one hand on her slender hip, knowing that she was still one of the most beautiful women in the room.

"I tell you Van Buren people will be talking about this party years from now," Odovacar slurred and nearly stumbled, having to lean on the Admiral to keep himself upright.

Loan sneered and very nearly shoved him. The secretary teetered, his champagne sloshed onto Loan's coat and the marble floor as he regained his feet.

"If they remember it," Elora said with a smile as she placed a steadying hand on her father's shoulder.

"Thank you, Secretary Siegar," Loan stiffly replied as he swiped at the damp spots on his dress jacket.

In his drunken state, the man did not comprehend that Loan's clipped tone and jerking movements were a sign of his mounting irritation. He placed a hand on the Admiral's shoulder, gesturing wildly with his glass.

"You certainly spared no expense that's for sure," Odovacar continued. "You have put many of these people to shame, poor Madam Bourchardt is practically seething over there." He pointed to a woman standing in a crimson gown some feet away with scrunched brows and forced smile. "Her soiree last week is downright pitiful compared to this."

"But Madam Bouchardt's parties are always much more intimate," Elora said sweetly. "She never holds something of this scale, she has no reason to."

"Feh," the Secretary consented and took a sip of his drink. Loan himself narrowed his gaze at the young woman.

"It is grand though Admiral, only a man such as yourself would dare put on something this extravagant," she smiled. "After all, you have accomplished so much, I don't think that a single person in this room would have ever guessed that a common soldier would finally save us from those outlaws."

"Common soldiers understand war," Loan shot back. "Not like the bureaucratic high command who could not stop a single pirate from nearly toppling the Federation. They had no idea how to put an end to Harlock."

"Ah yes," she raised her eyebrows and tapped a finger against her full lips. "I think I do remember some talk of your methods, though I daresay they were quite brutal. But capturing the children of outlaws and wiping out entire cities is quite cruel don't you think? Only a monster is capable of such barbarity."

Loan's back stiffened and his jaw clenched as she laughed, a light tinkling sound meant to make it sound like she was joking.

He didn't find anything humorous. What he did to ensure the Federation's safety was not secret, and his reputation as a remorseless commander often served as fodder for the gossiping elite. Loan wanted to grab her and shake her, to scream in her face that because of him she could stand there in her finery and insult him. She didn't understand that they were merely pirates and wanted outlaws, that they had done worse than he ever could.

Loan felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder, stopping him from acting out against her. A look of pure dread fell over Elora's face as a tall man dressed in black appeared beside Loan. The Admiral felt some of his anger slip away when he saw Adalric Vielle at his side.

Stern faced and aged by war, he was feared as much as Loan was hated. The fact he was once an assassin for the Federation and rumored to have killed his wife had much to do with his reputation.

"Miss Siegar, your father could use some water and a quiet place to sit for a while," Adalric said in a firm tone that was not to be disobeyed.

Elora nodded, her eyes wide and hands trembling as she took Odovacar by the arm and retreated into the crowd without another word.

"I suppose I should thank you," Loan said, shaking off Adalric's hand once the Secretary and his daughter were out of sight.

Adalric huffed and took a sip from the champagne glass he was holding. "You set yourself up for things like that," he said. "You shouldn't try so hard to impress them, they'll only resent you more."

"I don't care if they do," Loan replied with a sneer. "I'd rather like for them to wallow in their hatred and jealousy."

The older man looked unconvinced but said nothing more. Loan however, had already turned his attention elsewhere. He scanned the crowd around them for several seconds, only turning back to Adalric when he could not find what he sought.

"Where is Adalyn?" he asked.

"I don't know," the older man stated harshly. "But if I had to guess, I'd say she is outside."

Loan knew that Adalric didn't like him associating with his daughter, but he never actively tried to keep him away from her. He neither moved nor said anything when Loan walked away, heading towards the garden in the back of his house.

The corridors beyond the ballroom and front parlors were deserted, and he wasn't surprised to find the terrace in a likewise manner when he emerged into the cool night air. The sprawling garden lay before him, structured and manicured with marble fountains and stone walking paths. Beyond though, was a flowering woodland with miles of unpaved trails. She could be anywhere.

Loan started towards one of the wide stairways when he spotted her further down the terrace. Adalyn was sitting on one of the top stairs, a champagne flute in her hand and staring off into the distance. She looked beautiful too, dressed in a silvery blue gown with a lace top and tulle skirt, and her black hair pulled in a loose ponytail.

"Did you get tired of mingling already?" she asked him when he approached her.

Loan cracked a half smile and felt his heart begin to pound when she looked up at him. He could face down an army of pirates without fear, but in her presence, he always felt anxious.

"You could say that," he replied, shaking his head when she offered him the bottle of champagne next to her.

"I don't blame you," Adalyn said as she poured herself another glass. "But you have only yourself to blame, you are the one who decided to throw this huge party."

Loan huffed, knowing there was no way he could deny it. He placed his hands on the banister and peered out over the garden, but his eyes kept drifting back to Adalyn.

"Do you know anything about Elora Siegar's eye?" he suddenly asked, making Adalyn snort as she sipped her drink.

"She's got a mouth she doesn't know how to keep shut," she said, to which Loan wholeheartedly concurred. "Did you talk to her?"

"Briefly, she was with her father and… "

"And?"

Loan didn't immediately reply, he felt his jaw involuntarily clench and his fingers curl into fists. Adalyn looked back up at him and softly sighed when she saw his blatant frustration. Of course, he couldn't understand why no one could look past his common background, or his methodology when it came to warfare. It bothered him constantly, Adalyn knew.

"You don't have to say anything," she said.

"I don't understand why," Loan complained. "Why do they continue to belittle and insult me when I am the one who singlehandedly defeated the pirate menace that very nearly destroyed them?"

"Because they don't want you to think that you could ever rival them," Adalyn stated. "It's bad enough that your wealth and power outstrip many in the old aristocracy. I'd be careful if I were you, some of them may find ways to take it all away."

Loan didn't doubt it for a moment.

"I have an idea! Why don't you just resign your position, pack your bags, and just take off? With the amount of money you have you could just start somewhere new, or even vacation on every planet in the galaxy!"

"That's what you want to do," he replied with a straight face.

"And I obviously have better sense than you," she laughed as she stood up and began walking down the stairwell.

She left her shoes and the champagne bottle behind, which Loan picked up when he followed her. Adalyn started down the path that led towards the lower grounds, occasionally stopping to pull jasmine or honeysuckle from the flowerbeds.

"Where would you go If you could leave?" Loan asked out of genuine curiosity as he strolled behind her.

"Oh, I don't know," Adalyn said as she sipped her drink. "There's so many places out there, Anthos, Calderia, Tainai. Though I did try going there after _you know who_ told me not to, but you know how that worked out. I'm now on the Fed's no travel list."

Loan didn't miss the indignant tone in her voice when bringing up past altercations with her father. Adalric may have overreacted when his only child ran off to spend a weekend on the tropical planet, but he made sure she couldn't disobey him again. Adalyn however, had never forgiven him.

"You've been plenty of places, where should I go?" she asked him when they approached a gleaming, cascading fountain surrounding by night blooming flowers.

"There's not many places I can recommend," Loan answered. He had been to countless planets in many star systems, yet his climb through the chain of command had left him little time to explore them. "I never had much free time to wander outside bases."

"Pity," Adalyn commented as she leapt onto the fountain rim and scattered the flowers she carried into the water.

"Although, nights on Antilles were beautiful," he said, catching her attention. "The Messier galaxy is close by, so the sky is filled with glowing, powdery stars."

"You know, for a stuck-up workaholic, you're a nice guy," Adalyn smiled as she skimmed her toes across the water.

He frowned. He wanted to be so much more than a nice guy to her.

"You're the only one who thinks so," Loan said, watching as she stared into the fountain, contemplating.

"That you're stuck-up? Everyone thinks that," she said, stepping into fountain.

"Can you be serious? Even for a moment?" Loan sighed.

"I am serious," Adalyn replied as she walked around in the shallow depth, kicking up water as she went. "The question is, can you not be? I bet you would feel much better if you loosened up and stopped caring about half the things that bother you."

"Like you? You don't ever seem to care about anything," Loan countered.

"Trust me, it's a much better alternative," Adalyn waded over to take the champagne from him and fill her glass again. "We're both stuck in a world that rejects us because you're a common man who accomplished what they could not, and I'm the child of a hitman who supposedly killed his aristocratic wife. They don't care about us, so why should we care about them and how they perceive us?"

Loan took the bottle when she handed it back to him. He understood where she was coming from, she had dealt with the sneers and rejection for far longer than he had.

"I don't think they dislike you because of your father Adalyn," Loan said as she raised a brow. "From what I hear, you've tormented every girl and teacher in every prep school you've been to. I also know that isn't the first time Elora has had an eye like that, thanks to you."

Adalyn laughed and offered no objection. She stepped back onto the fountain edge, her champagne glass dangling from her fingertips.

"Shouldn't you be getting back to your party? Someone may be wondering where you went," she said.

"They may," Loan replied. "I have no intention of going back for a while."

"They may think you're being rude," Adalyn said with a sly grin.

"I don't honestly care."

"See! Why can't you do that more often?" she exclaimed.

Loan softly sighed. She didn't realize that he didn't want to go back because he'd rather stay here with her. She turned with an exaggerated swirl of her skirts and looked up into the sky when a bright light exploded overhead.

"Are those fireworks?"

Loan looked up and knew immediately they were not. The sharp tang of ozone hit his nostrils when a sudden gust of wind nearly blew them over. Another light exploded, a great white burst that plummeted from the sky.

"Get down!" he shouted as he grabbed her arm and jerked her to the ground beneath him.

The earth lurched violently beneath them when it struck with a deafening boom. Water sloshed around them, and when the tremors finally ceased Loan looked over his shoulder to see the horizon lit with fire. Dread filled him when he realized the Federation Prime Base lay in that direction. There could be thousands of casualties.

"You okay?" Loan turned his attention to Adalyn who nodded in response. "Come on," he said pulling her up. "We've got to get out of here."

He needed to get Adalyn to safety, then to the base. Loan knew not all the ships docked there could have been destroyed. He would have to salvage what he could, see to damage control, then go after who did this.

Loan, so focused on what needed to be done, barely missed impaling himself on the saber pointed at him. His eyes widened, scarcely believing that the tall, scarred visage of Captain Harlock stood before him.

"Van Buren," he said. "You and I have unfinished business."

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed Loan's character here, it's much more consistent than in the last story and more in line with how I imagine him. Adalyn has changed a little too, but she's more like the Adalyn in my other stories. Also, her gown in this chapter is inspired by the Nightingale by Emily Riggs, it's so beautiful! But **$5000** *dies a little inside*

Reviews are much appreciated, I love hearing what you guys think!


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